“In case you haven’t noticed, wannabe Hollywood analysts, er sorry, I mean tech bloggers the world over, are breathlessly opining and propagating news about Netflix CEO Reed Hastings estimate that Amazon is spending up to $1 billion annually on content for Amazon Prime,” Armando Kirwin writes for TechCrunch. “Meanwhile, outside of the Silicon Valley Distortion Field, a.k.a. back in Hollywood, everyone who hears the exact same statistic is thinking: ‘So… what’s the big deal?’ …Amazon spending $1 billion on content isn’t all that surprising. You can expect more of that in the years to come.”

“But here’s the kicker, and the real lesson for you, dear reader: Netflix is going to die. Realistically speaking, Netflix is not magically immune to the same forces everyone else has to deal with. And it’s not just the cost of content acquisition they have to worry about,” Kirwin writes. “Death also lurks in the race to the bottom caused by an ever-increasing quagmire of streaming competitors (especially from those who can make money elsewhere) regardless of whether they’re subscription or VOD.”

In the UK, I have been with LoveFilm’s DVD rental service for two or three years. (LoveFilm is an Amazon offshoot.) It’s great and includes streaming video. But their iOS app won’t display on my TV when connected by cable, whereas the Netflix app will. We haven’t quite finished watching the SF series Jericho on Netflix. I have started paying for the Netflix streaming service so this month I’m paying for both services and have yet to decide which I’m going to keep.